Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Sid Caesar -- Comic Genius

Another show biz legend has left us. Sid Caesar, comic
genius, died Feb. 12.

The closest I ever came to being struck stupid when meeting
a real star was when I wangled a backstage interview with Sid Caesar. He was in
San Francisco
appearing onstage in LITTLE ME. I was a new stringer for the Fresno Bee and
the minute I walked into his dressing room I knew I was out of my league.

I pulled out my steno pad and fountain pen and promptly
dropped the pen. It rolled over to Caesar's chair. He picked it up and handed
it to me. I looked into the bluest eyes I had ever seen and was struck stupid.

I kept a death grip on my steno pad but didn't take a single
note the whole time. Every time I stumbled through a question, Caesar would
open his mouth and his "handler" would reply. Only once did Caesar
actually get a word in edgewise.

I asked him why he was so much funnier on stage than on
TV.He raised one of those expressive
eyebrows and offered a simple explanation for the magic of live theater. He
said that because I had bought a ticket, dressed for the occasion and made an
effort to get myself into a seat, I was primed to think he was funny. In short,
performer and audience worked together. We expected to be entertained and we
helped to make it happen.

That’s a lesson I never forgot and I pass it on to anyone
who quakes at the prospect of appearing before an audience. What the great
comedian told the green reporter is as true as ever. The audience is not your
enemy. The audience is part of your presentation. Whether they know it or not,
the people behind those smiling faces want you to succeed. The interaction that
Caesar described is 99 percent of a successful program. With a little
preparation and practice you can handle the other one percent.

**Adapted from my post to the DorothyL list serv on Dec. 19,
2013, and my article in the SouthWest Sage of August, 2007.